Review

Some people would be jealous of Meena Harper, a writer for the television soap “Insatiable.” Others, however, wouldn’t envy her at all. That’s because Meena is a psychic who can foresee deaths.

As one might imagine, it’s a bit difficult for her to get a date. Her neighbors set her up to meet their cousin, whom they tell her is a prince. She’s skeptical. But when she becomes acquainted with this so-called prince, Lucien Antonescu, she’s smitten. Lucien works as a professor in Bucharest, which sounds both intellectual and exotic. Some would envy Meena for the new man in her life.

And some wouldn’t. Because --- oh, dear --- Lucien is a vampire. In fact, he’s the prince of all vampires, also known as the prince of darkness. Meena should’ve known he was too good to be true. She still wants him, though, which is either very romantic or dangerously bewildering. She hates the idea of vampires, especially now that “Insatiable” is supposed to add vampires to their plot. But you know she had this coming. After all, her name is Meena Harper; isn’t that awfully close to Mina Harker, Dracula’s love interest in Bram Stoker’s novel?

While Meena is getting drawn closer to Lucien, a series of gruesome vampiric murders have rocked the news. A demon slayer from the Vatican is after Lucien and wants to kill him. And the vampires of the world are also battling amongst themselves, which Lucien, the good guy/bad guy, is trying to solve.

Though based on characters from demonology, INSATIABLE is never frightening or gothic. It’s an easy read, with brief paragraphs and generally short chapters. While Meena is often clueless as to what’s happening, readers can sense what will occur next. Lucien drops enough hints --- such as not liking daylight, surviving near-death experiences without getting hurt, and relishing the chance to talk about Vlad the Impaler in detail --- that it seems Meena is the last person to figure things out. The book becomes more interesting as it goes on, because the vampire fighting eventually comes on full force and Meena has to save one of her friends from the creatures of darkness. At this point, the story moves quickly and gets the reader more involved. Meena’s psychic abilities come into play more, which is a nice touch.

In the end, INSATIABLE is a genre novel that could be a fun read for those who enjoy Meg Cabot and her style of writing. It also will doubtlessly entice readers who are interested in vampire books, which, in recent years, seem to be growing in popularity and sales.